Trunk caster and corner-shield



(No Model.)

J. A. SLAMA. TRUNK (EASTER AND 001mm SHIELD.

Patented July 9, 1895.

I Unrrtrero Stat as PATENT Gretna.

JOHN A. SLAMA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TRUNK CASTER AND CORNER-SHIELD.

SPEGIFICATIQN forming part of Letters latent No. 542,574, dated July 9, 1 895.

Application filed February 8, 1895- Serial No. 537,726. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN A. SLAMA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,

in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Trunk Caster and Corner-Shield, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to trunk casters and corner-shields, and its novelty will be fully revealed in the following description and claim, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings; and the object of the invention is to provide a trunk corner-shield having a caster-hub of improved and advantageous construction formed in the same piece with the shield.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a caster having a cup-bearing of peculiar construction to fit the aforesaid hub, so that the weight of a trunk will be distributed more upon the face than upon the body of the hub.

The invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and arrangement of parts.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, Figure 1 is a bottom perspective View of one of the front corners of a trunk with the latter broken away, showing my invention applied. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the conical hub. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the corner-shield. Fig. 4 is a top perspective view of the caster. Fig. .5 is a sectional view taken through the deflected wing of the shield and the caster on the line 00 ac, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of shield having my improved caster-hub.

The same reference-numerals denote the same parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The numeral 1 indicates the trunk-bottom, 2 the front of the trunk, and 3 one end of the trunk.

The end and side wings 4t and 5, respectively, of the corner-shield diverge from the bumper 6 at an equal angle between the vertical shield-corner 7 and the end and side shield'corners 8 and 9, respectively, while the underlying wing l0-that is, the wing which is secured upon the bottom 1 of the trunkprojects from the said bumper, not centrally between the wings 4 and 5 or the corners 8 and 9, but it is deflected toward the side c0rner from a horizontal line A drawn at right angles to the corner 7 centrally between the end and side corners 8 and 9 and the wings 4 and 5. This wing 10 has a caster-hub 11, (hereinafter to be particularly described) cast or otherwiseformed integral with its outer surface, and is deflected, as'above stated, in order to bring said hub as closely as possible to the front edge of the trunk. This construction and arrangementare of valuable importance, owing to the fact that the casters in universal use are hung at an equal distance from the side'and end trunk corners and support the trunk too far away from its sides, leaving it in position to be toppled over sidewise at slight interference and particularly in attempting to upset the trunk endwise; but there being, in accordance with my invention, a much greater space between the caster-hub and thetrunk ends than between said hub and the sides of the trunk said disadvantages and difficulties are completely overcome.

The caster-hub 11 is conical or cone-shaped and depends from the wing 10 to a flat face 12, from whence extends at right to and in the same piece with the hub the rivet projection 13.

The caster consists of the arms 14, joined together by the conical cup 15, said arms being of the width of the cut and projecting therefrom at aslight angle and carrying the roller or wheel 16 journaled in the ends of the arms between the latter. The conical cup 15 has a bottom opening 17 for the rivet projection 13, and from the upper end of the said opening to the end of the inside taper of the cup is formed a flat bearing-surface or inner cup-bottom 18. This surface 18 forms a supplemental bearing for the hub-that is, in addition to the conical bearing between the hub and the cup an additional bearing is formed between the hub-face 12 and the said surface or inner cup-bottom 18. By this construction and arrangement the whole weight of the trunk does not come upon the conical hub; but the main weight of the trunk is really supported upon the cup-bottom 18, leaving the hub with a slight frictional bearing upon the cup and keeping the rivet projection always in perfect alignment.

In the modification shown by Fig. 6 the shield has only two wings, 19 and 20, for use upon cheap trunks, one of said wings having cast with it a hub 21 similar to that shown in 5 the other figures of the drawings, except that the conical surface is concaved.

Although I have only shown my caster applied to a trunk-shield, it may be employed upon all classes of furniture requiring roll- I I0 ers by simply casting the hub, as herein shown and described, upon a plate.

It will be observed that by forming a seat in the cup for the face of the hub the jars and shocks to the hub and rivet projection,

:5 occasioned from violent or careless handling of trunks, are entirely avoided. It will be further observed that the flat face of the hub and the cup-seat prevent the parts wedging or having too great frictional bearing.

by the cup, and between which the wheel is' journaled, as set forth. In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. SLAMA. \Vitnesses:

JOHN H. DICK, WILLIAM W. SNOW. 

